Hair Roller

ABSTRACT

A dual member hair roller device designed to produce spiral curls for hair lengths that vary from medium short to very long and comprised of a flexible, permeable, elongated supporting roller body with a lateral surface that is capable of gripping fabric; and a detached, elastic, permeable fabric sleeve that safely and securely affixes to the gripping surface of the roller body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The herein invention relates to the field of personal hair accessoriesintended to curl human hair.

Hair curling technologies have long strived to pioneer easy to install,comfortable and reliable hair rollers. Current hair rollers do notadequately secure the hair to the roller, are uncomfortable duringovernight wear, do not produce spiral curves with relatively consistentradius, and do not facilitate hair drying if damp hair is wound aroundthem. Furthermore, current hair rollers have finite dimensions thatlimit the amount of hair that can be wound around them. As aconsequence, large tresses of hair may not curl as expected becauseexcess of hair is placed on the roller.

Elongated cylindrical foam rollers that are readily available in themarketplace claim to create spiral curls or waves. They secure the hairby bending the roller's ends on top of the hair after it is wound. Ahair roller known from US patent document U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,759 has asimilar elongated body as the commonly available foam rollers, however,instead of bending ends it employs the use of a non-elastic ribbon-typefastener which is secured through spiral slits at the end of the body.This hair roller is also designed to create spiral curls. A majorshortcoming of both types of rollers is that the wound up hair unravelseasily during physical activity or overnight wear. Another drawback isthat it may not be possible for a long tress of hair to be wound aroundthe cylindrical body in a spiral fashion because of the roller's finitelength. As a result, long tresses have a higher likelihood to be placedon top of previously rolled hair, thus foregoing the spiral curl effect.What is more, if a long tress of hair is wound up damp, the hair fromthe outer sections prevents moisture escape from the inner sections ofhair.

A hair curler known from US patent document U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,163consists of a supporting body with cross-section that diminishes fromone end to the other and a pin-like fixing device. This type of curleris designed to prevent hair from slipping and to produce spiral curlswith diminishing bending radius. Nevertheless, the roller isuncomfortable for overnight wear due to its rigid supporting body.

A hair roller known from US patent document No. D469924S consists of arigid cylindrical supporting body made of plastic and covered in hook,self-gripping fabric material. Problems associated with curling hairwith this device include discomfort during overnight wear, difficultyremoving hair that gets tangled into the hair retention surface of theroller, and static electricity build-up caused by removing the hair fromthe gripping surface of the roller. Furthermore, all short cylindricalhair rollers by design lead to the winding of one section of hair on topof another. As a result, similarly to the elongated foam rollers, ifdamp hair is wound around the self-gripping roller, it is difficult formoisture to leave the inner sections of the hair.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention introduces a dual member hair accessory whichfacilitates the curling of hair and surmounts the issues associated withcurrently known hair rollers. The purpose of the invention is to createa hair roller which allows for uncomplicated and secure winding of wetor dry hair, is comfortable, and produces relatively spiral curls.

The first member of the present hair roller assembly is a light-weight,flexible, elongated supporting roller body with a lateral surface thathas a plurality of projections with hooked shaped ends capable ofgripping fabric. The second member of the present invention is astretchable, permeable fabric sleeve. A tress of hair is passed throughthe sleeve, which in turn is repeatedly wrapped around the supportingroller body in a downward spiral fashion. The sleeve securely attachesto the hooked, fabric-gripping surface of the roller and prevents thehair from unwinding.

A major benefit of the present invention is that it is more comfortableto wear while sleeping because the flexible nature of the supportingroller can be easily pressed or bent when weight is applied to it. Oncethe weight is removed, the roller body reverts to its original shape.

The elongated body of the supporting roller encourages the winding ofhair in a downward spiral fashion. As a result, after removal from thehair the present roller produces spiral curves. In addition, multiplesupporting members can be attached to one another via theirfabric-gripping exteriors in order to create new, longer or wider rollerbodies that allow for customization of the wave radius and ensure thatthe spiral curl effect is present in long tresses of hair.

Another major benefit of the present invention is the incorporation ofan elastic fabric sleeve member which envelops the tresses of hair thatare being curled. The sleeve acts as a fastening mechanism owing to itssecure attachment to the roller member by clenching to the roller'sgripping outer surface. Furthermore, due to its fabric nature, thesleeve does not leave indentations in the hair after it has been unwoundunlike other hair curlers that employ the use of rigid securingmechanisms such as pins, brackets, or clips. Another benefit of theelastic sleeve is that it shields the hair from the roller, thusreducing static electricity build-up which may result from the frictionbetween the hair and roller's gripping surface.

In the event of damp hair being wound up around the present hair roller,the liquid and gas permeability of both the supporting body and thefabric sleeve member provide a pathway for moisture to leave the hair,thus enhancing the hair drying capabilities of the roller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The components of the invention herein are not drawn to scale. It is anobject of the drawings to illustrate the primary functions of thepresent hair roller assembly by utilizing several views and referencenumbers designating corresponding parts.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the hair roller assembly, schematicallyillustrating the relationship between the supporting roller member 1Aand the elastic fabric sleeve member 1B.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary cylindrically shapedembodiment of the supporting roller member 1A.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary right frustum shapedembodiment of the supporting roller member 1A. FIG. 3.1 is a side viewof the supporting roller member of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the supporting roller member 1A as shown inFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the supporting roller member 1A, as shown inFIG. 3, that demonstrates the bendable properties of the roller body asa compression force, F_(c) , is applied to its surface.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary embodiment of thetubular fabric sleeve member 1B and its elastic properties as a tensileforce, F_(T) , is exerted by each end of the sleeve.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary embodiment of thetubular fabric sleeve member 1B and a tress of hair that has been passedthrough it.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the hair roller assembly of the presentinvention that schematically depicts two alternative arrangements of thesupporting roller member 1A and the fabric sleeve member 1B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in greaterdetail in FIGS. 1-8. The embodiment presented is not to be construed aslimiting the invention thereto.

A specific example of a preferred embodiment of the hair roller deviceis depicted in FIG. 1. The schematic drawing demonstrates the compositeassembly of the partnering members of the present hair roller in whichthe sleeve member 1B is wound around the roller member 1A in a spiralfashion. Although not illustrated, it should be understood that first atress of hair has been passed through member 1B. The tress, togetherwith the 1B member, is jointly wound along member 1A in a spiral manner.Accordingly, 1A is constituted to be the supporting roller member of thepresent hair roller ensemble.

In terms of greater detail, an embodiment of the supporting rollermember 1A of FIG. 1 is shown in FIGS. 2-5, One preferred form of the 1Aroller member may be generally characterized as an elongated, rightcylinder. The cylinder embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is hollow, A secondpreferred form of the roller member 1A may be generally characterized asan elongated, right conical frustum. The frustum embodiment shown inFIGS. 3-5 is also hollow. The supporting roller body 1A has two oppositeends 11-11′, a circumference, and an approximately circular orelliptical cross section with a diameter that may stay constant asviewed in FIG. 2 or may increase from one end along the axial length ofthe roller towards the other end as viewed in FIGS. 3-5. The supportingroller member 1A may or may not be hollow. The outer periphery of theroller is covered with plurality of flexible projections 12. Eachprojection 12 has a hooked shaped end which is capable of grippingfabric. The fabric-gripping hooks 12 act as multiple attachmentmechanisms that easily and securely connect the supporting roller member1A to the sleeve member 1B.

The embodiment of the supporting roller member 1A is made oflight-weight material that has plurality of apertures 13 so that it isporous and allows the movement of air, liquids, and water vapor throughit. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the supporting roller member is also madeof soft material that possesses sufficient flexibility and resilience.When a compression force, F_(c), is exerted at the sides of the rollerbody, for example when the weight of a head is applied to the rollerwhen lying on a pillow or another resting surface, the roller walls bendunder that force. Furthermore, the roller member 1A reverts to itsoriginal shape after removal of the stress. The distinctive combinationof the flexible frame, the fabric-gripping exterior, and the permeable,elongated shape characterize the improvements of the supporting rollermember 1A over all of the currently known hair rollers.

In terms of greater detail, an embodiment of the sleeve member 1B ofFIG. 1 is shown in FIGS. 6-7. The preferred form of the sleeve membermay be generally characterized as tube with two open ends 14-14′. Itshould be understood that the sleeve's ends 14-14′ areindistinguishable. The sleeve member 1B may be made of knitted, woven,laced, or crocheted type of fabric material that is light weight. Thematerial may have plurality of apertures 15. The yarns of the sleevefabric may be spaced so that the material has open appearance. Theapertures 15 and the sufficiently spaced yarns allow the movement ofair, liquids, and water vapor from one side of the fabric to the other.The fabric material is elastic and may have stretch engineered into itsyarn through mechanical stretch construction so that when a tensileforce, F_(T), is exerted by each end of the sleeve member as viewed inFIG. 6, the member has the ability to stretch in four directions and toreturn to its original size and shape after removal of the stress. Thefibers of the sleeve yarn may be natural, synthetic, or a combination ofboth. The fabric sleeve member 1B can easily and securely attach to anddetach from the fabric-gripping surface of the roller member 1A. The useof a fabric sleeve as an attachment mechanism is a novel element in thehair curling technology and is what distinguishes the present inventionfrom other inventions.

The dual-member hair roller may be installed to the hair as follows:

First, the sleeve member 1B is taken and the fabric is gathered aroundthe installer's fingers to form a scrunched up fabric ring. Second, atress of hair 18 is taken and, starting with the tips 17, is passedthrough the ring described above. Once the entire tress 18 goes throughthe ring, the fabric is slid upwards towards the scalp 16. Next, thefabric is extended back to its original length, or stretched out alongits axial length so that in covers more hair surface. When the hair 18is fully inserted within the fabric sleeve as viewed in FIG. 7, thefirst end of the sleeve 14 is located close to the scalp 16 while theopposite end 14′ is located close to the hair tips 17. Next, thesupporting roller body 1A is taken and moved close to the scalp 16 andthe sleeve end 14. The supporting roller body 1A is placed in an uprightposition and is held stationary. The winding process begins by relativerotation of the fabric sleeve 1B around the roller member 1A. Unlike thewinding process employed in the case of non-elongated cylindrical haircurlers, the tress of hair herein is wound along the roller member 1A ina spiral manner from one end 11 to the opposite end 11′ of the roller.As indicated previously, depending on the embodiment of the preferredform of the roller member 1A, the tress of hair 18 may be wound up in acontinuous curve of either constant (FIG. 2) or changing (FIG. 3)diameter along the frame of member 1A. Thus, the tress of hair may havea bending radius that either stays constant or increases or diminishescontinuously. The winding process ends when the entire length of thetress of hair 18 within the sleeve member 1B is wound around the rollermember 1A. The sleeve member 1B and the supporting roller member 1A canbe pressed together or pulled apart for easy fastening and unfastening.By enveloping the hair strands 18, the sleeve member 1B prevents thehair from rubbing against the hooked shaped ends 12 of the roller member1A, thus reducing the build-up of static electricity to the hair.

FIG. 8, AB′ and AB″ depicts two alternative arrangements of thesupporting roller member 1A and the elastic fabric sleeve member 1B. TheAB′ arrangement illustrates an exemplary hair roller constructed byattaching two right conical frustum supporting roller members 1Ahorizontally to one another via their fabric-gripping exterior walls.The AB″ arrangement illustrates an exemplary hair roller constructed byattaching two hollow, right conical frustum supporting roller members 1Avertically to one another via their fabric-gripping exterior walls. Thefabric sleeve member 1B is then wound around the two newly constructedsupporting bodies. The ability of the supporting roller bodies tointerlock by adhering to one another's gripping surfaces is a novelelement in the hair curling technology and it makes possible the rollingof very long tresses of hair.

What I claim is:
 1. A hair roller for winding up human hair, comprising:an elongated supporting roller member, having a cross section and a pairof spaced opposite ends; and a detached sleeve member, having two openends; wherein said sleeve member is wound along said roller member. 2.The hair roller according to claim 1 wherein said supporting rollermember is made of a material that possesses flexibility, gas and liquidpermeability, and the ability to grip fabric.
 3. The hair rolleraccording to claim 1 wherein said sleeve member has a form that cangenerally be described as a tube.
 4. The hair roller according to claim1 wherein said sleeve member is made of elastic fabric material.
 5. Thehair roller according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is made ofpermeable material that allows liquids or gases to pass from one side offabric to the other.
 6. The hair roller according to claim 1 whereinsaid sleeve member is made of material that can attach securely to thefabric-gripping surface of said supporting roller member.